Vehicles including a hoist apparatus for loading containers or other items onto the vehicle and for unloading the containers or other items therefrom are known. In particular, one such vehicle may be referred to as a container handler or a loaded container handler. Such vehicles typically comprise a hoist apparatus carried on a wheeled chassis that is actuated by pressurized fluid selectively directed by manual controls. Conventionally, the hoist apparatus includes a fork assembly carried at the distal end of a lifting arm, and a pair of fork tines are fixedly mounted to the fork assembly. The entire fork assembly is usually pivotable with respect to the lifting arm via a hydraulic cylinder. Further, the lifting arm itself is usually pivotable or extendable toward and away from the vehicle chassis via one or more additional hydraulic cylinders. In some cases, the fork assembly may be rotatable with respect to the lifting arm to effect dumping of a container.
When the vehicle is at a stop, the lifting arm and fork assembly are manipulated to bring the tines of the fork assembly into engagement with a container. The container is then elevated through coordinated movement of the lifting arm and fork assembly to position the container on the chassis. Some container handling vehicles may contain a “hopper” over which the container can be positioned to deposit refuse in the hopper.